How would a drone react in a zero gravity environment like on one of those zero gravity flights you can take. I have my theory but I am curious to hear others opinion. Please share below.
Well, if there is still air/a gas in the 'chamber' it should just fly very fast. In a vacuum it won't move at all. (What I think, not necessarily true)
In zero g a non GPS non VPS drone will continue accelerating in the direction it was last pushed until either opposite force is applied or the energy is dissipated by the friction of the atmosphere. A GPS or VPS drone will attempt to compensate.
The fun begins when the force applied is up. Since a phantom can't reverse its motors, the drone will simply continue upwards.
If there is air the drone would propel. (Like on one of those flights.). In outer space propelling would do nothing, however electrical discharges by the motor bearings would cause some erratic movement.
In zero g a non GPS non VPS drone will continue accelerating in the direction it was last pushed until either opposite force is applied or the energy is dissipated by the friction of the atmosphere. A GPS or VPS drone will attempt to compensate.
The fun begins when the force applied is up. Since a phantom can't reverse its motors, the drone will simply continue upwards.
You're confusing lack of gravity with lack of atmosphere.
Without gravity, a drone would need very little effort to become airborne. Once aloft, the motors could be turned off. It would not continue to drift upwards due to friction with the air. Eventually, it would slow down and stop ascending.
Hey Sparky. With all due respect, you need to read what I wrote and you quoted. My exact words were "the drone will continue accelerating in the direction it was last pushed until either opposite force is applied or the energy is dissipated by the friction of the atmosphere".
One thing is for sure: you want to turn the GPS off. The plane is moving, and the drone will try to maintain its position in 3D space if the GPS system is left on. It will crash into the rear wall very fast! Using VPS might be OK.
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The gyros wouldn't work so there would be no way for the craft to level itself. Also, no gravity means no air pressure. So the altimeter wouldn't work either. So it would flop around crazy and crash. MHO.
As far as gyros go I prefer them with tahini sauce ---- ba-da-bam. Sorry couldn't resist.
However as to the science....
From a physics manual:
"Gyroscopes depend on the conservation of angular momentum. Orientation and navigation gyroscopes are finely balanced/symmetrized so that gravitational fields will not exert external torque and modify the angular momentum.
As the container which holds the gyroscope moves, a gimbal mount allows the gyroscope to maintain a constant rotational axis orientation. Sensors measure the changes between the container and the axis of rotation so that navigation parameters are known.
Even if there was no gravitational field, the angular momentum (and hence the orientation of the axis) would be constant."
I do agree that without gravity you would have no atmosphere and without atmosphere you would have no air pressure since all the air went away. However, in an induced zero g environment such as the OP suggests (eg riding in the Vomit Comet), there is still atmospheric pressure contained in the aircraft fuselage and therefore IMHO, a quad operator would still be able to exercise some control its x,y axis, still not sure about the z axis for reasons stated previously
Tahini sauce? What in the world is that? I like Tzatziki.
You might be right about the gyro. You sound right.
Re air pressure, in my mind, it's not really the air pressure, it's the micro-changes in air density measured by the sensor in the aircraft. So in a space craft in black space, there would be no changes in air pressure. OTOH, if it was a sci-fi rotating space station such as in the movie 2001 A Space Odyssey, the air would have changes in density and the altimeter might work.
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